Lavr Kornilov
Russia |party= The Russian All-Military Union |events= }}Lavr Kornilov is a famous General, widely known for being one the leading figures in the victory of the whites during the Russian Civil War. History Early Life Kornilov entered military school in Omsk in 1885, at the age of 15, and went on to study at the Mikhailovsky Artillery School in St. Petersburg in 1889. In August 1892 he was assigned as a lieutenant to the Turkestan Military District, where he led several exploration missions in Turkestan, Afghanistan and Persia, learned several Central Asian languages, and wrote detailed reports about his observations. Kornilov returned to St. Petersburg to attend the Mykolayiv General Staff Academy and graduated as a captain in 1897. Again refusing a posting at St. Peterburg, he returned to the Turkestan Military District, where he resumed his duties as a military-intelligence officer. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 Kornilov became the Chief of staff of the 1st Infantry Brigade, and was heavily involved in the Battle of Sandepu (January 1905) and the Battle of Mukden (February/March 1905). He was awarded the Order of St. George (4th class) for bravery and promoted to the rank of colonel. Travels Following the end of the war, Kornilov served as military attache in the Qing Empire from 1907 to 1911. He studied Mandarin, traveled extensively (researching data on the history, traditions and customs of the Chinese, and regularly sent detailed reports to the General Staff and Foreign Ministry. Kornilov paid much attention to the prospects of cooperation between Russia and China in the Far East and met with the future president of China, Chiang Kai-shek. In 1910 Kornilov was recalled from Beijing, but remained in St. Petersburg for only five months before departing for Mongolia to examine the military situation along China's border with Russia. On 2 February 1911 he became Commander of the 8th Infantry Regiment of Estonia, and was later appointed commander of the 9th Siberian Rifle Division, stationed in Vladivostok. The Weltkrieg At the outbreak of the Weltkrieg, Kornilov was appointed commander of the 48th Infantry Division, which saw combat in Galicia-Lodomeria and northern Hungary. Although he was captured by the Austro-Hungarian forces in 1915, he managed to escape and return to Russia a year later, in July of 1916. The Russian Civil War After the abdication of the Tsar mere months after Kornilov's return to Russia, a provisional government was installed headed by Alexander Kerensky. This government proved to be weak an ineffective leading to revolution in 1917, despite Kornilov's attempts at keeping the order by marching on Petrograd (this was seen by many as an attempted coup.) With the loss of Petrograd and western Russia, he fled to the newly established Don Republic in the southern Caucasus. After the Bolsheviks' acceptance of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Kornilov took part in the legendary “Ice March” across the Kuban steppe succeeding in seizing Yekaterinodar, where he narrowly escaped death from an artillery shell. Despite aid from the Entente, the Russian provisional government agreed to cease contact with them in return for aid from Germany, Kornilov protested direly but to no avail. Throughout 1920-1921 Kornilov spent months besieging Moscow, finally walking into the Kremlin on the 22nd of January to accept the Soviet defeat. Russian Politics Kornilov went on to form the political party "The Russian All-Military Union," a small party with nominal influence on the Russian political stage, it would take a lot of instability to even consider them having any power. Category:People Category:Russian-related topics Category:Russian Civil War Category:Russian Generals Category:Europeans